Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 93: This matter won't be resolved without the downfall of several ministers.

Lelouch was not yet an administrative official in the Empire's propaganda department. His assistance to Minister Mark von Baden in persuading prisoners of war to surrender was merely a preliminary demonstration.

In the era before loudspeakers, propaganda and persuasion were very inefficient, as it was impossible to gather too many people to listen to a speech at the same time.

If leaflets are handed out, the prisoners of war may not see them, and even if they do, they may not pay attention to them, and they may not be literate.

In the end, it was up to the civil servants of the Prisoners of War Affairs Department to organize small-scale lectures and persuasion sessions.

Fortunately, we had Lelouch's original speech, so we could just copy it in batches, similar to the sales pitches used by companies in later years for training courses.

Minister Baden was very satisfied with his performance and valued him even more.

Soon it was time for Lelouch to return home to visit his family and take a vacation. Minister Baden was very reluctant to let him go, hoping that this young prodigy could do more for the Prisoner of War Affairs Department and offer more ideas, but for now, he could only let him go.

Before parting, Minister Baden had his driver give him a ride and even accompanied him to the train station.

On the train, the minister seized every opportunity to chat with Lelouch and ask for his advice on policy strategies.

"Do you think there are any other areas where the Empire's military propaganda work can be improved? If you perform exceptionally well in the Foreign Propaganda Department in the future, would you like to take the opportunity to be promoted to the Director of the Propaganda Bureau of the War Department?"

If you're interested in that, I can help you. However, you'll need to reach a certain rank yourself; you'll need to be in a leading position within a bureau under the Ministry of War, and your military rank will need to be at least Major General.

Lelouch: "I don't have any ideas about that. I think the External Propaganda Department of the War Department's Propaganda Bureau is a good stepping stone, but there's not much room for maneuver if you go any further."

If I have to juggle both military and political duties in the future, I don't want to work in propaganda anymore. Because our only area for improvement is external propaganda.

As for domestic affairs… unfortunately, given the current domestic policy, what excuses can we offer? We have undeniably committed all the attacks the enemy made on those points.

Minister Baden was taken aback, but had to admit that Lelouch was right, and that they couldn't force the issue.

Lelouch sincerely analyzed, "For example, the day I tried to persuade the Britannian prisoners of war to truly break with Britannia and fight for us, I exposed our own dirty laundry, saying that our people's wages were restricted, our supplies were strictly rationed, and the rations were not enough to eat. These are all facts, and the enemy doesn't need to fabricate them to slander us."

The difference in our system with the Britannians means that we can only incite their soldiers, while they can incite our workers and peasants. This problem is unsolvable.

There are problems with an overly free market, and there are problems with an overly rigid planned economy. There is no perfect economic management system in this world, and there will always be a group of people who will suffer relatively.

I simply unearthed the highlights that we could have promoted but hadn't, or that we had overlooked. But I can't lie through my teeth; ultimately, publicity work must be based on facts.

If we expect the people to unite under the banner of the empire, persevere through a protracted war, and refrain from unfounded thoughts, then what we need is not propaganda, but rather concrete improvements to domestic policy.

Don't do what the current War Department and War Materials Department (Kriegsrohstoffabteilung, KRA) did, allocating almost 100% of Farben Chemical's synthetic ammonia production to the explosives production department—those people never considered that the war might last for several years and that some synthetic ammonia would need to be reserved for the fertilizer industry!

Those people never thought of using a portion of the steel production to expand railways at key hubs, increase transport capacity, and build more locomotives and wagons so as to facilitate the exchange and transportation of more industrial raw materials to various places!

The empire has no shortage of coal, but now, apart from the Ruhr region, how many places are experiencing a decline in production efficiency because they can't get coal out? The Ruhr has so much coal that it can't be transported out.

Forgive my bluntness, but the current high-ranking officials in the relevant departments are too eager for quick success and instant benefits. They only think about how to maximize combat power in a short period of time, but they sacrifice the empire's long-term development and the people's lives.

Therefore, I will not interfere in the Empire's internal propaganda in the future, because there is nothing to promote. It's better to do something concrete—something that truly enables the people to live sustainably—thank goodness for the eloquent propaganda.

Lelouch's words were insightful and, frankly, a bit presumptuous; they weren't something someone of his level should be saying.

Although these statements are all correct, incorporating the insights of countless military enthusiasts and historians throughout history, they are all derived from a post-mortem analysis of the empire.

However, considering that Lelouch had just contributed a plan that could potentially persuade tens of thousands of prisoners of war to surrender, and that it had indeed achieved remarkable results.

Although Minister Baden was somewhat bewildered, he was still willing to listen patiently.

He hadn't expected this young man to have such profound insights into the problems of the empire, even noticing the hidden dangers in the economic sphere and the departments responsible for coordinating industry.

Moreover, many of the things he said were indeed insightful. The minister had a vague feeling about this as well, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

After Lelouch enlightened him, the minister felt as if the clouds had parted and the sun had shone through, and he suddenly understood everything.

The empire's industrial coordination department is far too short-sighted and focused on short-term gains.

In the terms of modern gamers, it's like playing Age of Empires and immediately mass-producing troops without any resource gathering. Or it's like starting Hearts of Iron and immediately investing in military production without cultivating any civilian resources.

In video games, you might be able to rely on a quick, massive army rush to victory. But in the real world, if a quick victory isn't possible, you have to plan for a protracted war.

Sometimes, the ability to wage a protracted war is like a nuclear weapon—it may not be used, but it's essential. If you lack the ability to wage a protracted war, even if the enemy is at a disadvantage on the battlefield, they will not seek peace. Only when you have the ability to wage a protracted war, and both sides can sustain the conflict, will the enemy realize that dragging things out is pointless, and only then will they return to the negotiating table for a ceasefire.

"You still see things so clearly. Sometimes I really don't know how your brain works. It's a blessing for the empire to discover a genius like you."

Minister Baden sighed deeply, completely convinced.
"When you achieve something in the field of external propaganda and are qualified for promotion, I will do my best to find a way to get you a position in a department that is involved in military supplies or wartime economic coordination."

However, you need to work hard yourself, and I need to work hard too. Right now, I can only manage prisoner-of-war affairs and some affairs in occupied territories. The importance of my department is far less than that of the economic oversight department. If I can't even get involved myself, there's no way I can be expected to promote you.”

Hearing his friend's sentiments despite the age difference, Lelouch was slightly moved and offered a helpful suggestion:

"With my help in devising strategies and persuading more prisoners of war to surrender for the Empire's use, it will be easy to achieve political success. Why worry that you won't be promoted to a more important department and gain greater influence in the future?"

As for the affairs of the occupied territories, I think it's easy to achieve results. Currently, the Empire's methods of governance are too rigid, which not only easily incites resistance from the people in the occupied territories but also leads to a decline in the economic vitality of those territories.

With the Battle of Ypres over, the entire territory of Bilikin is now under Imperial control, and the former king is dead. However, some of his cabinet members did not escape on the Burmese cruiser and were thus spared from the bombing. I believe we should gather these individuals and support the restoration of a legitimate administrative body for Bilikin. Economically, they should still be required to cooperate closely with the Empire's wartime economy, and agricultural products can continue to be subject to rationing. However, there is no need to immediately dismantle and relocate the factories back to the Empire; that would result in too much loss. It would be better to utilize existing equipment and organize production locally.

"If you can advance such economic policies, I will also persuade Duke Rupprecht to establish suitable industries in appropriate locations within the territory of Biligin, and even in the far north of the Franks. As long as you achieve good economic results in the occupied territories, which can support the Empire's military-industrial complex, your influence in economic planning will naturally increase in the future."

Historically, Demacia's occupation policy on the western front was somewhat rigid, consisting mainly of direct military rule without supporting local collaborators.

The local economy is also very inefficient. Many factories are simply dismantled and the machines are shipped back to Demania. This crude approach severely damages productivity.

On the eastern front, however, the Empire was still trying to establish self-governance among the Bopo people. To compete with Russa for local support, both sides were vying for welfare benefits for the locals. In the end, the war resulted in both sides suffering heavy losses, and the victorious nation seized the opportunity to establish the Bopo Kingdom.

Of course, Demania's failure to achieve local self-governance on the western front was also due to unavoidable circumstances—they never managed to completely occupy Biligin's territory. As long as the king remained in Ypres, relying on the Burgh army to defend the last 5% of the country, he could always legally represent Biligin.

But now the situation is different. Billy King's original ruling structure no longer exists, and there is only an Eton junior high school student supported by Britannians.

Given this situation, Minister Baden, who is in charge of the administration of prisoners of war and the occupied territories on the Western Front, could certainly petition the cabinet. For better economic efficiency and to facilitate deeper cooperation between the surrendered Biligin divisions and the Reich, the captured Biligin high command should be released to form a new cabinet.

Anyone who has played Hearts of Iron knows that after you win an occupation, releasing a "commissioner's territory/puppet state" is much more efficient than direct occupation and military rule, and it also consumes more local resources and industrial capacity.

"These suggestions are quite reasonable, and I was already considering this matter. Since you also think it's a good idea, I'll expedite the process."

After listening to the opinions, Minister Baden readily agreed to adopt them as much as possible, and also told Lelouch not to keep any ideas to himself in the future.

"With your foresight, you must have already thought of this. I was just lucky to remind you. I wish that under your rule, Billy King and the occupied western territories will get better and better."

Lelouch didn't take credit for it. He knew that Minister Baden was very insightful and could handle these things on his own. Lelouch was just giving him a push.

……

After seeing Lelouch off at the station, Minister Baden personally watched him board the train and even had the driver help Lelouch carry his luggage. The driver's back ached from carrying so much luggage, mainly because there were too many gold coins in it.

After the train departed, it headed southeast, its final destination being Vienna, the capital of the Allied powers, where Lelouch was going to visit relatives and bring some back.

After watching the train depart, Minister Baden focused for the next few days on establishing a new administrative body for Biligin and expediting the persuasion of Britannian prisoners to surrender.

Lelouch left behind not only the document he gave that day to persuade people to surrender, but also many other targeted and categorized arguments. For example, there were those aimed at Lord Kanna, those aimed at the ANZAC Corps, and those aimed at the Indians in South Asia.

Minister Baden had everyone try them out and found that the rhetoric used to persuade the Indians to surrender was quite effective.

During this war, Bretania was able to persuade the Indians to fight for them for two reasons. First, the Indians were poor and genuinely needed to serve in the military or work to earn a living. Second, they had promised the Indian leadership that "as long as the Indians help them fight, they will establish their own country after the war is won."

But Lelouch knew, of course, that Britannia were scoundrels who never kept their word. All the promises they made were lies, whether to the Irish, the Indians, or the tribes of the Middle East; they were all just to exploit the other party, and they would never deliver on any of them.

Instead, they will only plant mines and dig pits all over the world, continuously stirring up trouble and inciting local tribes to kill each other for centuries, preventing peace.

Although Lelouch cannot produce conclusive evidence yet, he can at least teach Minister Baden to repeatedly emphasize this possibility to the prisoners of war, planting as many seeds of doubt as possible in their minds.

By accumulating knowledge and experience gradually, one can eventually convince at least a few people to accept the advice.

Minister Baden did indeed do as instructed, and as a result, every day hundreds of Indian prisoners of war woke up from the brainwashing rhetoric of the Burkina Faso and realized that "those promises were completely unreliable. Anyway, we'll all be laborers working and eating, so it's the same whether we work for the Demanians or not."

In comparison, it was Lord Kanner and the ANZACs among the prisoners of war who were the most stubborn in the end.

The main problem is that people in these areas did not suffer as much as those in Britannia itself due to "massive conscription leading to insufficient labor supply in the rear, free markets causing a surge in wages in the rear, and wage inversion between the front and rear."

Currently, the labor markets in Canada and Australia and New Zealand are relatively stable, and soldiers still earn more money than factory workers, so soldiers are willing to risk their lives for them.

The Kanna people, in particular, were extremely loyal to the Kingdom of Burkina Faso, even more so than the people of Burkina Faso themselves. They were completely unmoved by Minister Baden's attempts to win them over, leaving the minister with no other choice but to arrest them and send them to work as laborers in the mines.

Minister Baden also understood the importance of combining hard work with publicity, so while establishing the Bilikin Cooperative Government, he also promoted it in a high-profile manner.

Minister Baden arranged for newspaper reporters to interview and extensively report on the surrendered Burkina Faso soldiers, especially those without family ties, as well as the Indians who surrendered and cooperated.

When the news spread, Demania naturally welcomed these cases of "enemies suddenly repenting and turning to the light," and morale was boosted, making more people believe that they were on the side of peace through war.

When the report reached London, it caused a huge uproar within Britannia.

The army was annihilated and the navy was severely damaged in a series of defeats, and no one has been found to take the blame yet. Parliament has been arguing about it for the past ten days or so.

There are now even situations where captured troops are cooperating with the enemy as a whole, and Indian soldiers are defecting for money.

This matter will absolutely not be resolved without the removal of several ministers in Britannia.

-

PS: The plot has come to this point, and in the next update I will have to write about some chain reactions from the perspective of Britannia.

Tomorrow we'll return to the protagonist's perspective, with the storyline focusing on his triumphant return home and the development of more business teams.

Thank you all for your patience with the side quests.

(End of this chapter)